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Breaking News in Tech, Search, Social, & BusinessTue, 03 Mar 2015 22:49:41 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1Honda Fit Named Yahoo! Value Car of the Yearhttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-named-yahoo-value-car-of-the-year-2014-11
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-named-yahoo-value-car-of-the-year-2014-11#commentsThu, 06 Nov 2014 17:28:14 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=402023The automotive industry is now evolving at fast rate and car manufacturers are now racing to implement new technology into their latest models. New companies such as Tesla are gaining accolades for their designs while many established car companies are just beginning to embrace electric and smart car tech.

For Honda, then, it must be a relief that their budget Fit vehicle is keeping up with the competition. This week the Honda Fit was named Yahoo! Automotive’s 2015 Value Car of the Year.

The publication said it gave the award to the Fit because the car simply packed-in more features than other cars in its class for a much lower price. Yahoo! Automotive Editor-at-Large Alex Lloyd called the vehicle “quirky and cute” when describing his enjoyable test drive of the Fit.

Yahoo! reviewed a $21,590 version of the Fit that included Honda’s navigation option. The car was the lowest-priced of the publication’s nominees for value car of the year. Even lower-priced versions of the fit include features such as Bluetooth integration and a rearview camera. The publication also commented that the car’s interior features “seem less cheap than they must be.”

Aside from the nice features, Yahoo! Automotive editors pointed to the Fit’s chassis and suspension as factors that helped make the car their number one choice. The site described the car’s handling as “fun and tossable,” though it did note the car can be noisy.

The Honda Fit is also up for AutoGuide.com’s Reacder Choice Car of the Year award, facing off against vehicles such as the Ford Mustang and the Toyota Camry.

The Honda Fit may have taken the top spot for value cars, but Yahoo! chose something a bit more expensive for its overall best car of 2015. In contrast to highly recognizable past winners such as the Tesla Model S or the Corvette Stingray, the publication this year named the Volkswagen Golf GTI as 2015′s best car. The GTI beat out powerhouse and luxury models such as the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, BMW M235i, and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class for the title.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-named-yahoo-value-car-of-the-year-2014-11/feed0Toyota Recalls 650,000 Vehicles for Faulty Airbagshttp://www.webpronews.com/toyota-recalls-650000-vehicles-for-faulty-airbags-2014-06
http://www.webpronews.com/toyota-recalls-650000-vehicles-for-faulty-airbags-2014-06#commentsWed, 11 Jun 2014 17:51:34 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=365696Today, Toyota announced an expansion to a recall which originally occurred in April 2013. The newly expanded recall affects an additional 650,000 vehicles in Japan, bringing the overall total to 2.27 million vehicles over the past year.

The recall deals with faulty front passenger airbags manufactured by Takata Corporation, a Japanese-based company which supplies airbags and other safety features to multiple car brands, including Honda, Nissan, and BMW.

Toyota released a statement in which they explained that the recall was necessary due to the airbags being constructed with faulty propellants: “Improperly manufactured propellant wafers could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash.” An abnormal deployment of such a propellant wafer could result in a small fire or the passenger being struck by metal shrapnel, leading to multiple injuries.

The situation was supposedly taken care of when Toyota announced the recall of 1,830,000 vehicles last April. However, after further investigations were conducted, Toyota discovered that Takata Corp. had given them an unfinished list of serial numbers listing the affected parts.

In order to ensure that another recall is not needed in the near future, Toyota has decided to take a more holistic approach toward solving the problem: “We have judged that it is more certain to replace everything,” stated Toyota spokesman Naoki Sumino. Toyota is now in the process of instructing its dealers in the United States and other global markets in how to replace the faulty part.

Toyota is quick to move on this recall considering the scrutiny it and other vehicle manufacturers have come under recently due to the high number of recalled vehicles. Toyota recalled 1.9 million Prius hybrids earlier this year due to a software glitch, and in October of last year, the company recalled 803,000 vehicles for another issue which impacted the performance of the airbags.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/toyota-recalls-650000-vehicles-for-faulty-airbags-2014-06/feed0NM4 Vultus Motorcycle Unveiled by Hondahttp://www.webpronews.com/nm4-vultus-motorcycle-unveiled-by-honda-2014-03
http://www.webpronews.com/nm4-vultus-motorcycle-unveiled-by-honda-2014-03#commentsMon, 24 Mar 2014 20:53:06 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=337300Friday at the 30th annual Osaka Motorcycle Show, Honda unveiled its new NM4 Vultus motorcycle, which features “Front Massive Styling.” The rider sits toward the rear of the bike, more like one would on a scooter, though the Vultus has the power of a standard “crotch rocket,” with its 745cc parallel-twin-powered engine.

The NM4 was designed to be practical in urban environments, and the rider steers via pullback handlebars, allowing the front end of the bike to contain the engine, fuel and storage space. Vultus, which means “face” in Latin, alludes to the aggressive Front Massive Styling of the motorcycle-scooter.

The NM4 Vultus features LED lights, future-proof shock absorbers and a low center of gravity, with its engine-forward design. Honda states that the NM4 Vultus’ engine has strong low and mid-range power and torque which facilitates smooth acceleration.

Check out a clip of the NM4 Vultus at the 2014 Osaka Motorcycle Show:

According to the Vultus press release from Honda, the design was inspired by anime and Japanese film. Keita Mikura, Large Project Leader for NM4 Vultus commented, “Honda is a big company. We make every kind of motorcycle. It’s great that sometimes we make a certain machine simply because we can and because we want to, not because we “should”. The NM4 Vultus exists because of a passion from deep within our company. We wanted to create something special, not just in the two-wheeled world, but truly unique in the whole world – a machine that engages a human soul like no other. Our intention was to make something that makes every moment feel cinematic, and we want riding it to be an event – guaranteed – every single time.”

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/nm4-vultus-motorcycle-unveiled-by-honda-2014-03/feed0Honda Mobilio Unveiled at Indonesia Int’l Motor Showhttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-mobilio-unveiled-at-indonesia-intl-motor-show-2013-09
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-mobilio-unveiled-at-indonesia-intl-motor-show-2013-09#commentsThu, 19 Sep 2013 18:35:47 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=262908Hoping to increases its sales in an ever-growing market in Indonesia (which is expected to account for 2.3 million vehicles in ASEAN by 2019), Honda has unveiled its Honda Mobilio at the 2013 Indonesia International Motor Show. The Mobilio will fall under the MPV (Multi-purpose vehicle, or minivan) category, the highest selling category of vehicles in Indonesia.

Currently, Toyota and Daihatsu dominate the car-market in Indonesia. However, Honda hopes to change that fact by early next year with its new dedication to the ASEAN market: “This is the first time Honda developed a prototype especially designed for the Indonesian market. Working closely with Honda operations here to study the unique needs of Indonesian customers, this Honda Mobilio will fulfill the dreams of Indonesian customers for an affordable family car featuring Honda’s high standard of quality,” stated Takanobu Ito, president and chief executive of Honda Motors.

The main feature of the vehicle that has been built to suit the needs of the Indonesian people is the ground clearance. The Honda Mobilio will have a ground clearance of 185 mm (or 7.3 inches for us Americans), which will allow the Indonesians to comfortably navigate the cumbersome rural roads that populate a majority of the country.

Not only will the Mobilio have the proper ground clearance to make driving easier, it will also be able to carry up to 7 people with its 3-row seating (another crucial quality seeing as Indonesia has approximately only 75 million less people than the US while it is 1/5 of the total size of the US). The Mobilio will also sport a 1.5L SOHC i-VTEC engine, producing 188 hp and 6,600 rpm’s. While the Mobilio will not be the sportiest MPV of all time (the Nissan Cube probably holds that spot in the ASEAN market currently), the engine will certainly be powerful enough to navigate the crowded and rugged streets of Indonesia without much challenge.

The Mobilio will be equipped with either a 5-speed transmission or a CVT – a continuous variable transmission. The CVT option will fit the needs of an Indonesian market well, seeing as it is able to constantly adapt to the speed and power needs of its driver and terrain.

John Phillips, of Car and Driver, has given the Mobilio a fairly glowing review: Imagine driving a CVT-equipped tall Civic wagon and you’ve pretty well nailed the Mobilio experience… This vanette is most notable for a cockpit as beautifully finished as any American Acura’s—a warm and harmonious blend of velour, pebbled vinyl, brushed aluminum, and fake wood.”

Honda hopes that the creation of the Mobilio and its Brio Satya, a subcompact hatchback that qualifies for the countries Low-Cost Green Car tax reduction, will justify the expansion of its current plant-manufacturing-outcome from 60,000 to 80,000, along with the creation of a new plant which will be expected to produce 120,000 cars.

The Honda Mobilio will be released to the market with a price tag of $13,000 to $16,000 dollars, making it a very affordable option for the Indonesian market.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-mobilio-unveiled-at-indonesia-intl-motor-show-2013-09/feed2Honda Has World’s Fastest Lawn Mowerhttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-has-worlds-fastest-lawn-mower-2013-07
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-has-worlds-fastest-lawn-mower-2013-07#commentsSat, 20 Jul 2013 13:57:43 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=243293]]>It’s a move that has rednecks everywhere drooling more than usual. According to Forbes, Honda UK has announced that they have built the world’s fastest lawn mower. Up to now, the record for fastest mower was held by Bobby Cleveland on a custom Snapper mower. Cleveland set the World Lawn Mower Land Speed Record of 96.529 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Now Honda has stepped up its game. It claims that this mower, dubbed the Mean Mower, can reach 130 miles per hour, a top speed that could make it the world’s fastest lawn mower. Honda says that on test tracks the mower has reached over 100 mph.

The Mean Mower was designed off Honda’s HF2620 model. That model only achieves 6 -7 mph when cutting. Admittedly, the top speeds the Mean Mower is claimed to achieve are not when the blade is spinning. But even the, it gets up to 15 mph, twice the speed of the mower it was built from. And it uses two 3 mm steel-cutting cables running at 4000 rpm for cutting mode.

To achieve those speeds, Honda started with the HF2620, but used a fiberglass body to keep the weight down. That was necessary because of the added high capacity oil cooler and secondary water cooling radiator added to the whole thing. All that is to support the power plant that gives it the speed, a 1000 cc motorcycle engine – presumably a Honda.

so far there is no word about making this model available for commercial purchase. This may be in the same vein as concept cars, a way to show off what a company can do, and maybe inspire other innovations that actually make it to market.

Honda has posted a video to its official YouTube page showing off the new ride. It is driven by race-car celebrity Gordon “Flash” Shedden.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-has-worlds-fastest-lawn-mower-2013-07/feed1Honda Recall: 321,000 Vehicles are Affected Worldwidehttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-321000-vehicles-are-affected-worldwide-2012-07
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-321000-vehicles-are-affected-worldwide-2012-07#commentsMon, 23 Jul 2012 13:56:48 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=183092Honda recall: 2012 CR-Vs and 2013 Acura ILXs are the latest batch of automobiles affected by potentially serious problems. In this particular case, car doors are having a very hard time staying closed, forcing the manufacturer to issue a worldwide recall on the vehicles in-question. The US alone is expected to recall 166,600 CR-Vs and 6,200 ILXs. Owners should start receiving letters in the mail detailing these issues sometime this August.

According to the company, the doors may not shut properly if the inside driver or passenger door handles are engaged at the same time as the power or manual door locks. Furthermore, since the doors are not properly latched, they may pop open when someone uses the locks. The mechanism will be given a once-over by mechanics when the vehicle is brought in for inspection. Should your automobile have any problems, it will be repaired at no cost to you.

The Honda recall follows close behind those made by Ford and Chevy, both of which have experienced some manufacturing issues over the past few months. This, of course, isn’t the sort of thing potential buyers want to hear when they’re on the prowl for a new ride. Whether it’s misaligned carpeting or the potential for sudden engine fires, consumers want don’t want to have to worry about the faultiness of their vehicle after signing all of that paperwork.

Thankfully, Honda says that no crashes, injuries, or deaths have been attributed to the malfunction. Hopefully this won’t change before the problems are addressed.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-321000-vehicles-are-affected-worldwide-2012-07/feed0Honda Fit EV Gets 118 Miles Per Gallonhttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-ev-gets-118-miles-per-gallon-2012-06
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-ev-gets-118-miles-per-gallon-2012-06#commentsWed, 06 Jun 2012 16:57:37 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=166338If you are tired of paying those high gas prices, but are unswayed by today’s hybrids and electrics, you might soon rethink your pessimism.

The new 2013 Handa Fit EV has just been given the world’s best fuel efficiency rating by the Environmental Protection Agency at 118 Miles Per Gallon with an unprecedented consumption rating of 29 kilowatt hours (kWh) per 100 miles.

The car is all electric, so the MPG is determined by an EPA methodology that compares the amount of energy used, with the equivalent in gasoline of how much it would take to run the same car.

A years worth of electricity to power the car is estimated to cost $500. Wow. Compare that to the estimate for a conventional automatic gasoline Fit at $1,500. And that’s considered to be a fuel efficient vehicle.

The Fit EV can go 82 miles before a recharge, more than enough to get to and from work for most people. That can be compared to the Ford Focus Electric, which gets 76 miles on a single “tank”, or the Nissan Leaf which caps out at 73 miles. The fit can be charged in three hours on a 240 volt system, putting out as much as 123 horsepower.

It wil be available in California and Oregon this summer, but east coasters will have to wait until next year to try them out.

As someone who has never driven a hybrid or an electric, I must say I am intrigued about the incredibly high fuel efficiency rating. With these high ratings, it is strange that better batteries have not been engineered to last longer and deliver more output.

I’ve also heard the accelerating beyond 30 Mph is incredibly slow and driving at higher speeds reduces battery life quite a bit. Even using the heater or air conditioning can have a tremendous impact. High MPG or no, I think better, longer lasting batteries are going to be the key to getting people excited about electric vehicles.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-fit-ev-gets-118-miles-per-gallon-2012-06/feed1Honda Recall Affects the Company’s Acura TL Brandhttp://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-affects-the-companys-acura-tl-brand-2012-05
http://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-affects-the-companys-acura-tl-brand-2012-05#commentsThu, 17 May 2012 17:58:10 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=158034Honda recall will only affect owners who have purchased the company’s luxury sedan, the Acura TL. According to Reuters, Honda will recall nearly 53,000 cars due to problems with the vehicle’s power steering system.

“Over time, the power steering hose may deteriorate and develop a fluid leak,” the company explained in a statement. “Leaking power steering fluid could lead to loss of power steering assistance or, if it leaks onto a catalytic converter it may result in smoke, or in the worst case, fire.”

According to the carmaker, the recall effects 52,615 automobiles in the U.S. and 4,266 in Canada. Presently, no crashes or injuries have been associated with the defect. Customers who purchased either a 2007 or 2008 model will be notified of the situation via mail around mid-June.

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/honda-recall-affects-the-companys-acura-tl-brand-2012-05/feed2Most Hybrid Owners Do Not Buy Another Hybridhttp://www.webpronews.com/most-hybrid-owners-do-not-by-another-hybrid-2012-04
http://www.webpronews.com/most-hybrid-owners-do-not-by-another-hybrid-2012-04#commentsMon, 09 Apr 2012 20:49:31 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=135992You see commercials all the time about how much hybrid owners love their car. They feel urbane and worldly when they realize how much they are helping the planet and their pocket books.

A new study from R.L. Polk is saying that, like in so many other instances, commercials and real life don’t always coincide. The survey on hybrid loyalty shows that most hybrid owners do not buy another one.

The data, coming from car purchases made in 2011, shows that only 35% of hybrid owners who made car purchases last year bought a hybrid again.

However, hybrid owners do tend to remain loyal to the brand they chose. Toyoto tops this list, with 60% of Prius owners buying a Toyota their next time around. In the case of Honda, 51% returned for another Honda, while only 20% bought another hybrid, from any brand. Apparently they liked the fact that it was a Honda, just not the hybrid aspect.

For dealers, it makes since to have a hybrid as part of their line, even though the segment makes up only 2.4 percent of the new car market. While not many hybrids are being sold, they do tend to bring customers back to that brand.

Though gas savings is often cited as a good reason to buy hybrid, there is little evidence that the price of gas, having nearly doubled from 2008 to 2011, has any impact on hybrid loyalty. Not only that, but hybrids do not carry more loyalty in so called “eco-friendly cities” in the United States. Markets like Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, and Seattle show no more loyalty to hybrids than the nation at-large.

“The lineup of alternate drive vehicles and their premium price points just aren’t appealing enough to consumers to give the segment the momentum it once anticipated, especially given the growing strength of fuel economy among compact and midsize competitors,” according to Lacey Plache, Edmunds.com chief economist. “For EVs and PHEVs in particular, certain obstacles — including consumer unease with unfamiliar technology and the lack of an adequate recharging infrastructure — will need to be overcome before sales increase.”

]]>http://www.webpronews.com/most-hybrid-owners-do-not-by-another-hybrid-2012-04/feed0Leaked Super Bowl Ads Didn’t Do Companies Any Favorshttp://www.webpronews.com/leaked-super-bowl-ads-didnt-do-companies-any-favors-2012-02
http://www.webpronews.com/leaked-super-bowl-ads-didnt-do-companies-any-favors-2012-02#commentsFri, 17 Feb 2012 21:44:12 +0000http://www.webpronews.com/?p=100817Before the Super Bowl, many companies were eager for consumers to feast their eyes on the much-anticipated commercials set to debut during the game. Some literally couldn’t wait and “leaked” their commercials a few days early. This was likely done to generate some early buzz for products, but a new analysis reveals that the plan may have backfired for some of these companies.

YouGov BrandIndex, a firm that monitors such things, has maintained their studied eyes at how consumer interest has sustained for businesses that released their Super Bowl ads prior to the game and compared that data with businesses that kept their Super Bowl commercials under wraps until the game. The study looked at the ten days following the Super Bowl and gauged consumer interest in businesses from both of the groups.

The analysis found that companies like Honda and Acura, who released commercials a week ahead of the Super Bowl, saw a precipitous decline in consumer interest in the days after the Super Bowl. In fact, consumers appear to have gotten their fill of the two car companies’ commercials leading up to the Super Bowl because interest for both of them peaked during the game and then quickly disappeared afterwards. Among the top companies that were still generating interest after the Super Bowl based on their commercials, both Honda and Acura fell out of the Top 10 brands and bottomed out at 21 and 26, respectively.

Alternately, those companies that didn’t debut commercials until the Super Bowl enjoyed the greatest staying power in the mind of consumers. Doritos, Chevrolet, Bud Light, and Budweiser have maintained a high level of interest with consumers still weeks after the Super Bowl. In fact, Doritos probably did themselves a favor by rejecting that one advertisement that eventually went viral. Nothing like enjoying the best of both worlds.

Below is a table that YouGov put together with the data from their analysis. What say you, readers of the Internet? Of the companies listed in the table that have managed to keep the attention of consumers, any of those businesses’ commercial resonating with you? Let us know in the comments below.